Thursday, 29 May 2014

Telecom Namibia has partnered with the Confederation of African Football to become the headline sponsor of the 2014 African Women’s Championship, in a deal worth N$6m (€422,500/$580,000).

At the signing of the agreement on Tuesday in Windhoek, Frans Ndoroma, Managing Director of Telecom Namibia said "our decision to sponsor the tournament was two-fold - primarily it is a strategic business move but it should not take away from the ambition to promote the country's ability to stage an event of the magnitude of the African Women's Championships.

"As a fully-fledged state-owned enterprise, we pride ourselves with a deep-rooted sense of duty to support corporate social investment initiatives; and Telecom has a proud record of achievements in all aspects of special responsibility, especially in sport, i.e., netball, boxing and hockey,"

Namibia Football Association (NFA) President, John Muinjo added that to host the biennial competition is a milestone achievement worth celebrating.

Following the successful acquisition of Nokia Devices and Services business, Microsoft Devices, has unveiled the first smart dual SIM Windows smartphone, Lumia 630 into the Nigerian market.

During interactive session with the media held recently at Protea Hotel, Ikeja, the technology giant stated the Lumia 630 Dual SIM with Windows Phone 8.1 in now available for consumers in Nigeria. The Lumia 630 Dual SIM delivers an unrivalled smartphone experience, with quad-core processing at a price that sits right with our consumers.

Head of Marketing, Nokia West and Central Africa, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile, Debbie Shepard noted that all across the world, millions of people are switching to Lumia Windows Phones and getting a taste of Affordable Innovation at its best! “We are thrilled to extend this innovation to Africa and super excited that the Lumia 630 Dual SIM is now available in NIGERIA” she said.

Continuing, Shepard said “we are extending our high-end technologies and apps to more customers across our various markets, with a seamless Windows Phone 8.1 experience and the first ever Dual SIM technology on a Lumia Windows Phone, enabling people to seamlessly switch between their SIMs without switching off their devices.

The Lumia 630 Dual SIM is built with a 1.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon Processor which makes the device super fast and delivers fast, uncompromised social experiences. It also boasts of a bold 4.5” clear black screen.

It was an event filled with sparks of beauty, glitz and glamour as parents and their female wards gathered at Caley College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, to witness the grand finale of beauty pageant tagged Beautiful Beginnings: My Mum and I courtesy of Dark and Lovely beauty range of products from the stable of L’Oreal Central West Africa.

The activation which was a week-long workshop designed to educate mothers and their lovely damsels on the importance of hair maintenance was organized in commemoration of the children’s day.

After a keenly contested beauty pageant that involved 15 schools, Precious Olatunde, a student from Caley College emerged the overall winner and carted home the sum of N200, 000.00 and a printer for her school. Also, the first runner-up, Islamiyah Ibuoye, a student from BolsSchool smiled home with N100, 000.00 and a desk-top computer for her school. Also, JemaimalAdegbe, a student from Frontliner School went home with the sum of N50, 000.00 and a scanner for her School.

Speaking at the event, General Manager Consumer Products Division, L’Oreal Central West Africa, SekouCoulibaly, stated that the ground breaking beauty pageant is to celebrate children and their mothers. ‘‘Apart from the fact that the Dark and lovely beautiful beginnings focuses on children, we figured out that there has not really been much education made in Nigeria on maintaining children’s hair which is why we have created the maintenance week’’.

The Loeries deadline has been extended for two weeks to 13 June. Both the entry deadline and the eligibility period have been extended. This means that all work must be commercially published, launched or aired up until 13 June 2014. A 10% late fee will still apply to all entries submitted after the original deadline of 30 May.Work must be produced by companies from Africa and the Middle East, including island states.

Entries are open to everyone in the brand communication industry – marketers, agencies, designers, media owners and media agencies. Every touch-point between a consumer and a brand is now considered by the Loeries – including Digital media, Architecture & Interior Design, Package Design, Radio, Television, Print media, Outdoor, Communication Design, Public Relations, Live Events, Sponsorship and more.

All paper based entries in communication Design stand a chance of winning the Antalis Creative Use of Paper Award. The Adams & Adams Young Creatives Award is open to everyone 27 or younger, and includes a trip to Cannes.If you’re looking for some help on preparing your entry, read 6 Steps to Winning a Loerie at Loeries.com.

New Category in 2014

Branded Content:includes the integration of a brand into a content platform – either pre-existing or created specifically for the purpose of promoting the brand. Branded content includes the following: Feature film or mini-series made for television, cinema release, DVD, or online release. This includes all genres – fiction, reality, documentary or entertainment.

Following the successful launch of the original ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, Orange has launched the ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2 smartphone - an affordable, feature-packed smartphone that will rapidly bring the benefits of the mobile internet to consumers across Africa and the Middle East.

Orange of the original ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI which sold nearly 250,000 units across 6 months, rapidly becoming the most popular smartphone in Orange shops in African and the Middle East. One out of every five smartphones sold by Orange across Africa and the Middle East is now an Alcatel smartphone.

"The smartphone landscape is rapidly changing - with high quality smartphones becoming increasingly affordable and accessible," said Yves Maitre, Executive Vice President, Connected Objects and Partnerships at Orange. "At Orange we continue to make the internet more accessible to our customers in Africa and the Middle East by providing the best phones and tablets, on the best networks, with localised content and services at a price that is accessible for even more of our customers."

With the ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2, Orange offers customers a full featured 3G Android Jellybean 4.2 smartphone with a 3.5”HVGA screen, dual-core 1.0 GHz processor, 2GB of memory and 512 MB of RAM. The sleek smartphone weighs in at 100g and is only 10.5mm thick.

As the curtains fall on the popular and exciting Goldberg Fuji T’o Bam, Fuji maestro, Alhaji King Saheed Osupa aka Saridon P is billed to perform at the grand finale taking place in the ancient city of Ibadan, Oyo State on the 30th of June 2014.

The Fuji star, alongside Ibadan-based Fuji musician, AlhajiTayeAdebisi, aka Taiye Currency and other upcoming Fuji artistes would thrill fans at the Trans Amusement Park venue of the finals. It is expected that King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, the Oluaye of Fuji would also be in attendance.

It would be recalled that Alhaji King SaheedOsupa alongside Current Goldberg Ambassador and winner of last year’s Fuji To Bam contest, NurudeenAtanda ‘Antenna’, were on ground to delight thousands of guests who thronged the Solton Hotel, Akure, venue of the Goldberg Fuji To’ Bam semi-finals which produced six finalists.

The finalists are; Akeem Okiki, Temitope Ajani, Twinzobia, Ejire Performer, Olajide Akanni aka Banana and Muhideen Adisa. The winners stand the chance of going home with up to N1.5m cash and other exciting prizes at the grand finale.

Gift items ranging from Blackberry Smartphones, Home Theatres, Television Sets and other exciting prizes were also given out in a raffle draw during the semi-finals held at Solton Hotel in Akure, Ondo State.

World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the world's most marketable footballer, heading a list created by market research experts 'Repucom.'

Ronaldo, who recently helped Real Madrid to their tenth European Cup win after a victory over Atletico Madrid in Lisbon, is known by 83.9 per cent of people globally according to the findings. The Portuguese captain has 82 million fans on Facebook and 26 million followers on Twitter, and is seen as the best 'trend-setter' in the football world. 82.5% of people quizzed believe the 29-year-old forward reflects trends in today's society.

The former Manchester United star tops the chart ahead of four time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, with Messi's Barcelona team-mate Gerard Pique coming in third position in the poll. TheArgentinian boasts 57 million Facebook likes and a global awareness score of 76%, while Pique, who is married to pop star Shakira, scored 58% in third.

Both Messi and Pique have been key members of the Barcelona side that have been dominant in the club game over the last several years. The Catalan giants have won two Champions League trophies within the last five seasons as well as four Spanish league titles since the 2008/09 season.

It was all fanfare as leading consumer packaged Goods Company Procter & Gamble Nigeria (P&G) in collaboration with STARUF Sports Development Limited (SSD) hosted Nigerian children to a fun-filled sporting fiesta in commemoration of this year’s World Children’s Day celebrations.

The event held inside the Legacy Pitch of the National Stadium complex in Surulere, Lagos.

On hand to celebrate and inspire the enthusiastic kids at the festival were the founder/CEO of STARUF Sports Development Limited and ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper, Prince Peter Rufai as well as P&G Nigeria’s Communications Manager, Ms. Olatomiwa Akande. Others notable guests include former captain of Team Nigeria Basketball team and former NBA player, Olumide Oyedeji; the representative for the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Mr. Francis Gbiri.

The one-day sporting tournament featured over a thousand children from up to one hundred schools spread across Lagos State. The children engaged in sporting events including activities such as 5-aside football competition, sack race, shadow pinning, lime race, egg and spoon racing and more.

Welcoming the children and guests to the event, Peter Rufai, also known as Dodo Mayana stated that “children are every nation’s most valuable resource;” adding that they are the building bricks of future greatness, endowed with potentials required for the meaningful development of any society.”

Nigeria's most innovative and foremost retail bank, Heritage Bank, has demonstrated its innovative whims by throwing its weight behind BrandiQ Campus Club. The bank is taking full sponsorship of the first public outing of BrandiQ club at Redeemer’s University.

The event holds today (May 29), at the main auditorium of Redeemers University, will provide students the rare privilege of interacting with industry experts in the Nigerian marketing communication space.

BrandiQ Campus Club is a platform designed to intellectually equip students of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in universities and polytechnics, and develop their brainpower and creative minds during their formative years in school.

According to the Editor-in-Chief, BrandiQ Magazine, Mr Desmond Ekeh, who expressed appreciation towards Heritage Bank’s kind gesture, stated that the major objective of establishing the club is to, “give students the platform to assimilate the industry and activities of players in the industry and help them transit from the university to the labour market. We have spoken to industry experts who are poised to mentor students in the area of their endeavour. This will involve the use of conferences, workshops, seminars, symposiums and other professional windows and mediums of supporting the academic world”.

Although Etihad Airways is relatively new in the aviation industry, but
it has become a household name regarding the level of personalized
customer care and attention to detail.

Today, most customers flying to and from the United Arab Emirates will probably use the national airline Etihad.

Founded in 2003, Etihad has been recognized by industry experts as one of the leading airlines for several consecutive years.
Contact Info:
Phone Contact Numbers
Corporate Headquarters: +971 2 511 0000
Customers call center: 02 599 0000

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Intel Corporation has restated commitment to modern teaching and learning techniques with investment in electronic educational resources to encourage the youths get access to quality education in a pleasant manner. The company announced this at the 4th Edition of the Nigeria Education Network Conference 2014 (Edunet) tagged “Fostering Technology Entrepreneurship in Nigerian Universities, “held at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

This year’s Edunet targets University students in Nigeria. It seeks to help them identify ways to draw on resources and structures as well as exploit emerging technology opportunities which enhance learning. In his words, Mr. Stanley Muoneke, Strategic Relationship Director for West Africa at Intel, “our participation in this year’s Edunet stems from our awareness of the challenges that Nigeria education system faces. It is also borne out of our determination to collaborate with other stakeholders to interpret education data in our environment; jointly work to understand and sustain technological efforts which would ultimately accomplish technological change.”

He speaks further, “in the last few years, Intel has worked on numerous educational projects in Nigeria. We have launched several key education projects with private sector partners and especially with public sector partners at state and federal levels. An example is the Intel Digital Literacy program. Late last year we launched the Intel Explore and Learn Education Content Market Place. It is perhaps one of our most important education initiatives in Nigeria.”

He highlighted that the ‘Intel Explore and Learn education marketplace,’ provides access to locally relevant education solutions and content , and can be used as “a resource hub where learners can find relevant content to enrich their studies, while giving content providers and publishers , a platform to easily share rich learning content with learners.”

The basic aim of this initiative according to Intel was to meet the unique needs of emerging markets by delivering high-quality; technology-based education opportunities, with target audience being young people. It encourages them to access education anywhere, from devices they choose, at home or at school.

Our aim is to ensure that we make it easy for the average student to find locally relevant content and textbooks that’s aligned to their local education curriculum; to have access to it offline and online in a safe environment, using devices that they prefer; to also consume the content in various fun formats. We seek to make it easy for the publishers and education content providers to distribute locally relevant education content and textbooks to every student in Nigeria.

Explaining why the company has been working to improve education in the country, Stanley highlighted that all through Intel's 36-year history, active community involvement with education has been a strategic business focus for the company, having invested more than USD1 billion in support of education; providing programs and support in more than 50 countries around the world since inception.

Monday, 26 May 2014

MTN is the only African brand in the 2014 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brand ranking for the third consecutive year. MTN is ranked in the 93 position this year in the prestigious global brand survey.

MTN is ranked in the 93 position this year in the prestigious global brand survey. This ranking has strengthened the company’s resolve, to continue its transformation into the digital lifestyle brand of choice for its customers.

According to Sifiso Dabengwa, MTN group president and CEO, this giant stride of the MTN brand to be ranked among top global 100 brands is the collective efforts of its human resources and customers.

“As MTN staff and customers, we are all custodians of the MTN brand. Many thanks to each one of you for your contribution in building up our brand to where it is today, and for continuing to proudly hoist the MTN flag”.

He expressed confidence that the MTN brand will continue to claim its place amongst the most valuable in the world with the commitment of its workforce to the MTN values and the delivery of ‘a bold, new digital world to our customers’.

Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced an extension of the closing date for the submission of entries for the 6th Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Award.

The submission of entries which now closes on Saturday, May 31, 2014 became necessary following appeals from some media stakeholders to give opportunity for more deserving journalists to enter for the awards.

The company had earlier announced an expansion of the annual award to encourage the media to draw attention to critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

The 2014 award will focus on Education and Youth Empowerment and will reward journalists with outstanding published reports in those subject areas.

According to the company, the reports should have been published in Nigeria between January 1 and December 31, 2013. Journalists are expected to submit a maximum of three entries per person to Mediacraft Associates via goldenpen2014@mediacraft.ng or the corporate address on 27a Ramat Crescent, Ogudu GRA, Lagos.

FA Cup winners Arsenal FC have revealed that Puma, their new sportwear brand, has acquired a set of additional licensing rights, that will see the firm ‘develop, distribute and market’ club-branded merchandise around the world, through its affiliated companies such as Cobra Puma Golf and Brandon.

According to a statement by the club, the additional deal, beginning from 1st July, will allow Puma to produce a range of merchandise including apparel, sporting goods, back to school gifts and souvenirs.

‘The Puma deal represents the biggest deal in Arsenal’s history and the new licensing element is a fundamental part of that. Puma will help us to grow our existing range of official Arsenal merchandise and provide our supporters with a host of new and exciting products’, Arsenal said.

Puma’s head of sports licensing Evy Bronneberg added: ‘Having the rights to produce Arsenal products both with and without the Puma brand trademarks enables us to further amplify the commercial potential of this partnership, and deliver a comprehensive merchandise range for Arsenal fans around the world.’

The Gunners confirmed the new agreement with Puma in January, ending a 20-year association with Nike thanks to a bumper five-year contract believed to be worth some around £150 million in total.

2000FM, the SABC’s national adult contemporary radio station based in Johannesburg, Auckland Park, wishes that Ubuntu would spread across Africa during Africa Month and influence the Nigerian authorities and African Union to do much more towards the release of the more than 200 school-going girls abducted by Islamist rebels - Boko Haram.

Related Articles:SABC named broadcast partner of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival Radio 2000 cruise gives birth to collaboration between Auriol Hays and Josie Field Judging panel for 2014 MTN Radio Awards has been announced Romy Titus named as a member of the Laureus Media Selection Panel Radio 2000 announces additions to its presenter line-up SABC named broadcast partner for 2013 Cape Town International Jazz Festival Liesl Hefkie named official marketing manager of SAFM Sports journalists crowned at 2012 Sports Media Awards SABC to act as broadcast partner for Breaking the Mould (BTM) 2012 Theme for 2012 Vodacom Durban July is 'A Material World'

The station has vowed to also create pressure on Nigerian authorities via their on-air campaign as well via the station’s Twitter handle #SAVEOURGIRLS to take action now. The station is also the former Official Radio Station for the 2010 FIFA World Cup which was held in South Africa. 2000FM said it will do all its power to force the global football authority FIFA to re-consider Nigeria’s participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil happening in a few weeks’ time – should no action be forthcoming and the school girls released unconditionally.

2000FM's station manager, says, “One can hardly imagine the pain felt by the families of young girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Only Africa can bring peace to Africa – as we celebrate Africa Day or Africa Month as 2000FM/SABC. We as a SABC national public broadcasting radio station have decided to lend our voices to the hundreds of thousands of fellow Africans that want to see these young girl children be released immediately. 2000FM has therefore launched an on-air and new media twitter campaign called ‘Africa Fridays’ which will see the station’s programming draw special and increased attention around the kidnapping of over 200 Nigerian school girls.

According to HumanIPO, Etisalat has filed a defence in a lawsuit brought against it by Mr Pascal Ozioko, who is asking for NGN100 million (US$615,000) in damages after the operator allegedly misled its subscribers in a fraudulent lottery promotion.

The plaintiff filed the suit in July 2012, asking for the operator to be compelled to publish the names of winners in a lottery who Etisalat said would win NGD500,000 (US$3,000) daily.

According to the reports, Etisalat counsel Jero Daniels told the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday the network was ready for its case, in which the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) is also a defendant.

The defence counsel said the defence statement was filed out of time, but she brought a motion to regularise it and deem it as properly filed and served. However, NLRC counsel Uduak Bhanani told the court her client had yet to enter an appearance in the suit and asked for more time to do so.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa subsequently adjourned the case to June 18, the report said.

Bedevilled with widespread corruption, a relatively low adult literacy rate, weak government institutions and inadequate physical infrastructure, Africa is widely seen as a risky place to do business. Analysts agree this is rightly so taking into cognizance, the myriad of problems plaguing the continent.

Lazarus Angbazo, CEO of GE Nigeria

However, expectations in some quarters, some world renowned business interests, corporations, chief among which is General Electric continue to invest huge amounts of money raising hope of a better and brighter future for the continent of Africa building infrastructures to support sustainable development across Africa.

How is GE doing it in Africa? What is GE’s winning strategy in the tough environment called Africa? What is/are the things GE is doing differently to succeed in Africa? These and many more questions bugging the minds of analysts are the focus of this month’s discourse on Innovation Africa with GE on leading business news channel, CNBC Africa on Channel 140 on DStv.

The programme which will air on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 (Children’s Day) at 13:00 WAT, will feature the people behind four companies that have succeeded in the African tough business environment. They are: Jay Ireland, President/CEO of GE Africa, Jim Ovia, Founder and former MD/CEO of Zenith Bank, Atedo Peterside, founder/Chairman, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Devakumar V.G. Edwin, Group Executive Director, Dangote Cement.

MasterCard continues to demonstrate its support of the Cashless Nigeria initiative by incentivizing its cardholders to go cashless.

The most recent campaign to promote cashless payments is in celebration of MasterCard’s sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, where four lucky MasterCard cardholders who entered the Win a trip few can win competition, won the ultimate football experience to attend the UEFA Champions League Final 2014 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Win a trip few can win called on MasterCard prepaid, debit and credit cardholders from Nigeria to share unique stories showcasing how using their MasterCard product has positively impacted their lives. Through the campaign, MasterCard has connected consumers in Nigeria with their love for football, while encouraging a shift to electronic payments.

“MasterCard supports the Central Bank of Nigeria’s drive for a cashless economy. Our sponsorship of one of the world’s leading football tournaments allows us to bring the game to Nigeria’s passionate football fans while raising awareness of the many benefits that electronic payments bring to all segments of society,” says Omokehinde Ojomuyide, Vice President and Area Business Head, MasterCard in West Africa.

The four lucky winners - Obisakin Timilehin, Obafemi Kehinde, Chibuike Alagboso and Patrick Ikwueme – each received a MasterCard Priceless Moments package, which included accommodation, airline tickets, luxurious dining, a Priceless Experience at the finals as well as a private tour of Lisbon.

After the CTIC incubator in Senegal and the Ebène project in Mauritius, Orange (http://www.orange.com) announces the opening of the first start-up incubator in Niger. Orange Niger and its local partners* have helped to set-up CIPMEN, a small- and medium-sized business (SME) incubator designed to encourage the creation of new and innovative companies in the country.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 85% of SMEs fail within the first two years, but 80% of companies that undergo an incubation process are still operating after five years.Supporting the creation of innovative businesses in NigerCIPMEN was designed to support small- and medium-sized enterprises from their launch phase until they reach a level of maturity and turn enough profit to fend for themselves in the long term. The purpose of CIPMEN is to help innovative SMEs grow on a market where many companies fail to see the light of day, and to bridge the gap between the informal sector and the larger national and international companies. Niger offers few suitable support mechanisms for upcoming businesses, despite the central role that companies play in creating jobs for young people, helping to form a middle class, and in creating and redistributing wealth.

A Correspondent with Punch Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kunle Falayi, has been declared the overall winner of 2014 Promasidor Quill Awards for journalists. Aside winning the overall award, Mr. Falayi also won two awards at the category level, thereby making a total of three honours he smiled home with.

His entry for the Best Report on Education: Lagos school where pupils sit on bare floor, was adjudged the best and therefore earned him the award for that category. Falayi also paired with Isioma Madike, formerly of The Nation, but now of New Telegraph to jointly win the Best Report on Children award.

With his outstanding performance compared to others, the judges considered Falayi the best of all candidates and therefore adjudged him the overall winner.

Speaking at the awards presentation held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Chief Keith Richards, Chairman of Promasidor Nigeria gave kudos to all journalists who submitted entries for different categories of the awards. Apart from the high-end lap-top and the company’s products given to the overall winner, Chief Richards disclosed that Mr. Falayi will be sent to London for an all-expense paid four-week multi-media journalism training course with Thomson Foundation.

Following the training in London, the Chairman said that Mr. Falayi will be sent on a week job placement with a prominent British national news organisation. His words: “This person will be provided with return flight, accommodation in London, daily living allowance and tuition fees for the training.”

Last year,
Nigeria’s online marketplace, Konga.com in collaboration with some other
Nigerian companies celebrated 5000 children at Tafawa balewa square, Lagos with
gifts, games and other interesting things that truly put smiles on their faces.
See pictures here

This year,
Konga in collaboration with Triple X entertainment and other companies will be raising
the bar, by hosting up to 10,000 kids at Muri Okunola Park, VI on Tuesday, May
27th, 2014. The event which comes just after Konga launched its special children’s day store
will see special prizes being awarded to exceptional children who participate
in the organized Spelling Bee.

Parents
looking to surprise their children with amazing but budget items like books, stationery, clothes, shoes and educational toys will be able to enjoy special
discounts on the Konga
Children’s day store.

Speaking
about this, Gabriel Gab-Umoden, Head Of
Marketing of Konga.com says “May 27th is a day dedicated to
celebrating Children all around the world, and in our own little way, we are
working with our partners to celebrate over 10,000 children in Lagos. We have
also created an avenue for parents to surprise their children with special gift
ideas and discounted offers in our children’s store”

Adults
are also not left out of the celebration, with a special page created here for adults to enjoy discounts
this end of the month.

Saturday, 24 May 2014

Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), apex telecom regulator has extended the ban it imposed on the sale of SIM cards by MTN, Airtel and Glo Nigeria, for missing Quality of Service (QoS) requirements.

The extension was announced in Lagos by the commission’s executive commissioner of stakeholders management Dr Okwchukwu Itanyi.

“The ban on the sale of new SIM cards is on. We have not lifted the ban. It was for a month and we extended it. We have not lifted that sanction. It is still on,” Itanyi said.

He said the commission would investigate reported cases of SIM card sales by the affected operators.

“It is something that we will investigate and if any of them is found to have fallen short of our regulation, it is something we can sanction them for,” Itanyi said.

Itanyi said through the fines the NCC is making the networks aware it is unsatisfied with their QoS.

Yahsat, the Middle East’s leading satellite service provider, took home the highly coveted SatCom Star Award for “Satellite Operator of the Year” on their first submission for the award. Yahsat had won the “Most Innovative Product/Service for Africa” for two consecutive years in 2012 and 2013.

Since 2012, Yahsat has provided connectivity to residents in unserved and underserviced areas across 28 countries using the company’s flagship product, YahClick.

Commenting on the award, Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer of Yahsat, said: “Yahsat has seen impressive growth since launching just two years ago, winning back-to-back SatCom awards for most innovative product, and rounding this up with this year’s satellite operator of the year award.

“Our role at Yahsat is to be a responsible company that drives social and economic growth by providing users with access to services that they can genuinely benefit from. The ability to connect to the unconnected parts of the world is the real benefit of our services.”

Foremost African financial institution; Guaranty Trust Bank plc (GTBank) has been adjudged the “2014 African Bank of the Year” for the 2nd consecutive time by African Banker Magazine in an announcement made on Wednesday, 21st May, 2014 at the awards ceremony that held at Kigali Serena Hotel, Rwanda.

The African Banker Awards is one of the biggest annual events that recognizes and celebrates the achievements of the financial services industry in Africa. It recognizes individuals and financial institutions contributing to the development and growth of Africa’s banking industry and changing perceptions of the continent’s domestic and international markets.

Outlining the rationale for selecting GTBank as the overall winner of the coveted ‘African Bank of the Year’ award, the panel of judges commented that the award recognizes financial institutions that are industry leaders, consistently report strong financial performance and significantly contribute to the quality of service offered by the financial services industry within their country & across the African continent.

Commenting on the awards ceremony, Publisher of African Banker Magazine; Mr Omar Ben Yedder said “We are here in Kigali where we have witnessed the transformation of a country. Since we have launched the awards we have witnessed the transformation of an industry. There is no room for complacency because there is much room for growth and development to achieve the transformation we all desire and work towards. Seeing local African banks finance and structure international deals is a step forward and unimaginable a decade back. I am also delighted to see 3 women pick up three coveted individual awards. Congratulations to them all!”

Following on from the success of the past three years, Orange is launching the 2014 edition of the Orange African Social Venture Prize. A new category has been introduced for the fourth edition: the “Orange Partner" award will recognize the best project that integrates an Orange application.

Encouraging innovation and the use of ICT for development

The Orange African Social Venture Prize once again rewards entrepreneurs developing products or services that use ICT in an innovative way to meet the needs of Africans in fields such as health, agriculture, education, energy, industry or trade.

Over the past three years, more than 1,500 projects have been submitted for the Orange African Social Venture Prize reflecting the dynamism of African entrepreneurs and the potential of the telecommunications sector.

Supporting social entrepreneurship to accelerate development in Africa
Operating in 18 countries in Africa, Orange serves close to 100 million customers. Given the impact that digital services can have on peoples’ daily lives, this presence means that the Group plays an important role in the continent’s economy and its future development. As a result, one of Orange’s main priorities is to improve connectivity, particularly in rural areas, and to introduce innovative mobile-based services.

The U.S Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has commended global infrastructure giants GE for fostering viable partnerships with Government and other private sector players across industries. Penny Pritzker who is leading a trade mission delegation to Nigeria was speaking when she visited the GE Corporate office in Lagos.

The Secretary of Commerce particularly commended GE for its range of healthcare products, some of which were tailor-made to suit the specific needs of sub-Saharan Africa. She said the collaborative work of GE in galvanising the Healthcare ecosystem through capacity building and supply of innovative Healthcare products was crucial in addressing primary healthcare needs in Nigeria and beyond.

GE had earlier disclosed its partnership with the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to provide a $1.6m grant specifically earmarked for market feasibility studies to develop hospitals in Nigeria. The fund aims at creating bankable business strategies for hospitals across the 6 geo-political zones in the country.

Other guests and stakeholders who participated in the Healthcare roundtable at the GE office include the U.S Consul-General Jeffrey Hawkings, US Consul General in Nigeria, Dr Babatunde Sagoe, Chairman of the Lagos state Primary Healthcare Board and Dr Efunbo Dosekun of the Outreach Children’s Hospital, Lagos.

Speaking on the challenges in addressing maternal and infant mortality in the country, Dr Doseku said inadequate capacity amongst care givers and inability of most healthcare centres to leverage on appropriate innovative technology was hampering the attainment of the Millennium Development goals on Infant and maternal health care delivery in the country.

IBM has announced a collaboration with the Zambian Ministry of Health to provide citizens with improved access to 200 lifesaving drugs. Supported by the World Bank, the Department for International Development, UNICEF and London Business School, Zambia’s Medical Stores Limited (MSL) will deploy a new medical supply chain pilot project using sophisticated analytics and mobile technologies to better manage medicine inventory and delivery.

The public health sector in Zambia registers 100,000 deaths annually due to preventable and treatable diseases. The goal of the medicine supply chain management project is to save more lives by making medicine widely available when and where it’s needed.

The Ministry of Health is introducing innovative technology to manage a scalable supply chain and control the usage, supply, availability and access to essential medicine within the Zambian health sector. The solution will provide a real-time view of drug usage and stock while analyzing data to identify trends and forecasts to prevent gaps in the medical supply chain.

“With help from our partners, we have already introduced simple improvements in the medical supply chain that will save the lives of thousands of children across our country by 2015,”said Dr. Bonface Fundafunda, CEO at MSL. “To build on these gains, we’re working with IBM to replace our paper-based inventory system with cutting-edge technology that can pinpoint the exact locations where stocks of essential medicines are running dangerously low.”

Using the IBM SPSS medicine supply forecast model, which takes into account local conditions such as the local rainy season, lead time and differences in each district’s demographics, MSL will be able to determine optimized distribution of drugs across an initial 2190 health centers.

"Zambia is taking strong action to prevent avoidable deaths by testing and deploying new methods to get drugs to people on time,” said John Makumba, operations officer, Africa Health Unit at the World Bank. “Supply chains are invisible and low profile, but when they don’t work, there are terrible consequences."

Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell milk, has announced the results of the first stage examination of the 2014 Cowbell National Secondary Schools Mathematics Competition (NASSMAC). The company announced the best three candidates each in the junior and senior categories from 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that scaled the hurdle to proceed to the next stage. This amounts to a total of 216 students.

Students ranging from age 10 to 18 years who are in JSS3 and SSS2 in government approved schools across the country participated in the first stage examination held on Saturday, March 15, 2014 in 200 centres in the 33 states and the FCT.

Announcing the results of the examination, Mr. Kachi Onubogu, Executive Director, Commercial, Promasidor Nigeria, said the successful students with the highest scores in both the junior and the senior categories from each state will be invited for the second and final stage examination from where the national prize winners will emerge. The second and final stage examination, he stated, will hold in four regions on Saturday, May 31, 2014.

The final prize-giving award ceremony is scheduled to hold at the prestigious Le’ Meridian Hotel, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State on Thursday June 26, 2014. At this occasion, the best 10 students from each category at the second stage examination will be celebrated as COWBELL MATHEMATICIANS in the presence of all stakeholders including the Honorable Minister of Education.

In the junior category, the first prize student will win N250,000, a trophy, medal and all expenses paid vacation and plaque, first runner up N200,000, plaque, medal while second runner up will getN150,000, plaque and medal.

Sterling Bank is set to throw its weight behind the 10th edition of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

The event, which will take place in Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa, today at the newly refurbished Dr. Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre is expected to rally support for talented thespians in the African movie industry.

The 'one-customer' bank stated that the decision of the bank was based on the need to invest in the entertainment sector to fully exploit the marketing opportunities that abound in it.

Sequel to the successful launch of the first BrandiQ Campus Club at the Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), Lekki, Lagos, in April, students of the Redeemer’s University are next in line to experience the unique impact of robust cerebral gymnastics.

BrandiQ Campus Club is a platform designed to intellectually equip students of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in universities and polytechnics, and develop their brainpower and creative minds during their formative years in school.

The event which will hold on May 29, at the main auditorium of Redeemers University, will provide students the rare privilege of interacting with industry experts in the Nigerian marketing communication space.

According to the Editor-in-Chief, BrandiQ Magazine, Mr Desmond Ekeh, the major objective of establishing the club is to, “give students the platform to assimilate the industry and activities of players in the industry and help them transit from the university to the labour market.”

Mr Ekeh, who stated that he conceived the idea of a brand-focused magazine right from his days as student of journalism, announced the intention to move the BrandiQ Campus Club train to other major campuses across the federation. “We have spoken to industry experts who are poised to mentor students in the area of their endeavour. This will involve the use of conferences, workshops, seminars, symposiums and other professional windows and mediums of supporting the academic world,” he said.

Nokia's first Windows Phone 8.1 device Lumia 630 will launch in Nigeria before the end of this month, Microsoft has announced.

The new device will be introduced to the media on Wednesday, 28 May, 2014 in Lagos.

The Windows Phone 8.1 is a new version of the operating system that Microsoft hopes will finally allow it to compete at par with Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.

With the aim of building on its success at the lower end of the market, which helped establish Windows Phone as the fastest growing platform and securing it the number three position behind Android and iOS, the new smartphone has 4.5" display and built with a quad core processor.

A 4G model, the 635, is will also be launched in the near future.

Later this year Windows 8.1 devices will also feature Cortana, the personal voice assistant that Microsoft claims will be more intelligent than Apple’s Siri and Google’s voice search.

One of the world leader in digital security Gemalto announces it has been chosen to provide the Algerian governmental agency “Hôtel des Monnaies de la Banque d’Algérie” with its Sealys eCover for ePassports and embedded eTravel software to support the country’s ambitious ePassport program, as well as to increase its production capacity.

A. Bouzbib, Senior Vice President of Government Programs at Gemalto

In this program Gemalto’s technology is reinforced by its advanced production and delivery capabilities that will ensure rapid deployment of ePassports whilst enhancing traveling experience for Algerian citizens.

The embedded Sealys eTravel software is ICAO Common Criteria certified and achieves industry-leading speeds for both personalization and secure data access. As a result, the Hôtel des Monnaies de la Banque d’Algérie will benefit from improved personalization performance and cost reduction of ePassport issuance. In addition, Gemalto’s Sealys eCovers meet the high durability and quality requirements of the Algerian program, thanks to their excellent wear resistance over the life time of the ePassport.

“We needed a reliable partner to ensure that the ePassports are delivered as quickly as possible to citizens throughout the country,” stated the Hôtel des Monnaies de la Banque d’Algérie. “Gemalto has the global experience and service level, including redundancy production capabilities, to enable us to perform the smooth issuance of the documents in all phases of the program.”

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

GREY, Adweek Global Agency of the Year, is re-entering South Africa with immediate effect, having agreed to acquire a majority stake in The Volcano Group, one of South Africa’s fastest growing independent advertising communications groups.

The Volcano Group will rebrand as GREY Africa, re-establishing the global advertising giant as a leader in providing creative and effective full-service marketing solutions across the African continent.

WPP, the world’s largest global media and communications agency network, made the announcement in London today, signalling yet another critical step in GREY’s growth strategy of developing its networks in fast growing and important markets and sectors in the EMEA region. The Volcano Group will focus on developing a strong local GREY presence in South Africa as well as lead GREY’s expansion in key African markets.

Paul Jackson, Volcano’s Group Managing Director, says he is immensely proud to be associated with an iconic agency such as GREY. “The GREY Group ranks among the world’s top advertising and marketing organisations, with an enviable global footprint. GREY’s credentials and achievements are impressive and their unique positioning of ‘Famously Effective’ resonates with the same values that have guided Volcano to success. The decision to take on the exciting opportunity of re-establishing GREY in South Africa and across the continent is one that is met with great enthusiasm by both parties, and we look forward to being an integral part of the continued global success of GREY.”

Google has opened up an Instagram account. Google announced it has joined the photo-sharing app with a short video of spinning Rubik's Cube doodle.

It has only one post till now, but it's following accounts for YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Glass.

Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr.

The new account is just another advertising vehicle for Google, it also has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

Fresh from winning the award for best e-commerce site of the year at the BOICT awards, JUMIA is on the move again with another fashion forward campaign.

JUMIA, founded by Africa Internet Holding (AIH), is Africa’s largest online retail destination with over 20,000 fashion items, and today it unveils its latest fashion campaign with a dynamic fashion video.

The video brings together Jumia’s fashion core values for sophisticated and stylish fashion infused with the traditional edge of made in Nigeria fashion, having opened a ‘By Naija’ store earlier this year to promote Nigerian fashion and local designers, as well as partnering with Africa Fashion Week.

At the unveiling event on Friday in Lagos, which attracted many celebrities in the fashion industry such as Toke Makinwa, Lola Maja and Emmy Collins, VP Fashion at Jumia Nigeria Funmi Daniels stated that “JUMIA is glad that Nigerians are embracing fashion online and moving away from shopping from abroad with the great opportunity JUMIA has provided in terms of offering a large assortment of items and brands”.

The wait is over in Africa for a homegrown platform that tells its many stories from a mature perspective, rather than from the tired metaphor of an emerging giant. It’s not only Africans who want better insight into their continent – the world also wants to understand Africa better.

“Mail & Guardian Africa has taken the bold step to report Africa by telling why things do or do not happen, using an evidence-based, non-dogmatic and analytical approach and exploring the new opportunities that technology, social media and crowd-sourcing tools offer to do that in new ways,” says Mail and Guardian Africa Editor Charles Onyango-Obbo, a leading pan-African journalist with an unparalleled grasp of the Africa narrative.

Mail and Guardian Africa aims to be the leading and most important commercially successful contemporary voice on African issues. News analysis, insight, commentary and investigative journalism will be the hallmark of this Pan African platform.

As part of the package, http://www.mgafrica.com, the digital news and information portal of Mail and Guardian Africa, was activated on Thursday 1 May 2014. This will be followed by the launch of the Mail and Guardian Africa head office in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday 20 May 2014. From this location, Charles will lead a carefully selected contingent of creative and African journalists and editors operating across the continent.

Nigerian merchants in the travel and hospitality industry expressed renewed enthusiasm for the country’s move towards a cashless society, after attending a workshop hosted by global payments and technology company, MasterCard.

Held in Abuja, the workshop was attended by more than 100 merchants from the hospitality industry, including representatives from leading restaurants and hotels. The training session focused on card acceptance best practices, with an emphasis on card security, fraud identification and management, signage at points of sale and cardholder support.

According to Omokehinde Ojomuyide, Vice President and Area Business Head, MasterCard, West Africa, the training supports the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Nigeria policy and its drive to boost international payment card acceptance.

“MasterCard’s vision for Nigeria is a world beyond cash. We are intent in fully supporting the Central Bank of Nigeria in achieving its goals of increasing electronic transactions in Nigeria. While progress is being made by Nigerian consumers, we are now working with the Central Bank, our licensed banks and merchants to increase the number of cashless transactions made by international travelers to the country,” says Ojomuyide.

Nigeria is becoming a popular destination for international travelers, and plays host to major events such as the World Economic Forum on Africa. The local tourism industry also provides 866.000 jobs, making it vitally important for merchants to subscribe to global best practice, especially as they service a growing international clientele who prefer to use electronic payments rather than cash.

Alexander Dobrindt, German Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure is given a tour of the Emirates A380 by Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, and Volker Greiner, Vice President North and Central Europe.

Emirates, a global connector of people and places, is showcasing its Airbus A380 aircraft from 20th May to 25th May 2014 at the 2014 ILA Berlin Air Show. The aircraft on display is Emirates’ 48th A380 in its fleet and was delivered directly from Airbus in Hamburg Finkenwerder to the show site, allowing ILA visitors to be among the first guests on-board the brand new double-decker. This is also the 150th A380 to be delivered from Airbus globally.

German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel visited the Emirates A380 display at ILA Berlin. The visit was part of the official opening tour for the airshow.

Emirates was the first airline to order the A380 and is the largest operator of this aircraft. The Emirates A380 currently operates to 27 destinations and has carried over 25 million passengers since 2008. The Emirates A380 is the largest aircraft displayed this year at the Berlin ExpoCenter Airport in Schönefeld. At the last ILA Berlin Air Show in 2012, more than 2,000 visitors toured the Emirates A380 on the first two show days.

Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer greets German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel at the steps of the Emirates A380 display at ILA Berlin. The visit was part of the official opening tour for the airshow. Emirates now has 48 A380s in its fleet, with a further 92 on firm order.

The aircraft continues to be a big draw amongst visitors and passengers alike. Emirates has carried more than 25 million passengers on its double decker A380 to date, serving 27 global destinations.

Over its 15-year history, WSM has helped companies like Unilever, British Airways and Aberdeen Asset Management enhance their brands with integrated strategies in the world of sports – with a focus on golf, soccer, sailing and tennis. To complement its London home base, WSM has international offices in the U.S., and is working on existing projects in both regions, along with Singapore, Tokyo, Australia, South Africa, Brunei and Thailand.

"Sports are a natural extension of the comprehensive entertainment marketing solutions Corbis has pioneered for leading brands across the world, from product integration to celebrities to rights and music clearances," said Shenk.

"Bringing WSM, its clients and buzz-worthy sports events and stars into our family is an exciting development," begins Mark Owens, Executive Vice President, Corbis Entertainment. "Sports are another high-profile form of entertainment populated with its own celebrities and A-list events. WSM's long track record, and unique depth in fast-growing worldwide sports like golf, tennis and soccer makes them a natural fit, with assets that we can leverage across all Corbis Entertainment global clients."

WSM is one of the world’s most successful independent sports and sponsorship marketing agencies. Established 15 years ago, it has established integrated sponsorship campaigns for brands including Unilever, MasterCard, British Airways and Aberdeen Asset Management across golf, cricket, rugby union, football, sailing and tennis. Headquartered in London, it also has international offices in Qatar, Brazil and the United States.

British Airways today, announced bumper discounts for early bookers for the coming summer with fantastic fares in its World Traveller and World Traveller Plus to an exciting range of worldwide destinations via London Heathrow.

Whether you choose to soak up culture, embark on an adventure or celebrate with family abroad this summer, British Airways World Traveller and World Traveller Plus offer something for all those who book their holidays early from either Lagos or Abuja.

The bumper discounts apply to all existing and potential customers of British Airways who want to get great deals on flights to the UK, Europe or North America when book from 19th May to 25th June, 2014 and for outbound travel from 19th May to 10th July, 2014.

With this offer, World Traveller customers can fly to London from $420, to Paris from $448 and New York from just $677. While on the World Traveller Plus, customers can fly to London from $1051, fly to Paris from $1079 and New York from just $1460.

British Airways, Country Commercial Manager, West Africa, Mr Kola Olayinka, said the discounts in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus are in addition to discounts already in place in Club World and excellent fares in the British Airways first class cabin. Passengers are offered the opportunity of booking BA’s Club World and fly in the Airlines award winning First cabin. This offer was designed because the airline recognises the needs of its customers during the summer period.

MultiChoice, Nigeria’s leading provider of premium pay-TV entertainment, has made good its promise to continue to dialogue with its customers in order to serve them better. The company hosted DStv subscribers residing in Ikorodu axis of Lagos State to a forum in Ikorodu on Saturday, May 17. Hundreds of DStv subscribers who attended the forum lauded MultiChoice for the initiative; they also requested that such engagements be sustained.

Caroline Oghuma, Public Relations Manager, DStv, while welcoming customers to the forum, stated that the objective of the forum is to thank subscribers for their loyalty and listen to their suggestions, advice and complaints, which provide constructive feedback necessary for MultiChoice’s effective operation. She said MultiChoice is an innovation-driven organisation that continues to add value to its subscribers from time to time.

“This forum is coming close to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil , which starts on June 12. We want to use this opportunity to tell our subscribers that you will not miss any of the games, as all subscribers, from the DStv Access bouquet to Premium will have unrestrained access to all the World Cup matches live. This is in addition to the other premium content that we offer on DStv,” she added.

Mr. Matthew Okoduwa, Assistant Director, Monitoring and Enforcement, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), commended MultiChoice for the customer forum initiative, describing it as an important mechanism in customer relations. He said it is the duty of NBC to regulate the broadcast industry in Nigeria and monitor all the channels on direct-to-home (DTH) and terrestrial televisions. He added that customers have the right to complain over what is served to them but also urged them to give credit where it is due. He further added that subscribers’ feedback help the regulator to effectively monitor the industry as well as enforce regulations.

MultiChoice executives at the forum, which include Mrs Chioma Afe, Marketing Manager, DStv; Lanre Oluwole, Operation Manager; Mr Faud Kadiku, Regional Operation Manager, as well as Mr Taiwo Oshikoya, MultiChoice Superdealer/CEO, Corsican Brothers, proffered answers to questions from subscribers. They also promised to give feedback from the forum to the Management of MultiChoice.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced it will be issuing two licenses to regional infrastructure companies (InfraCos) to provide fibre infrastructure for broadband internet access across the country.

According to the executive vice chairman of NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah, the two companies will obtain licences once they have successfully met requirements that will soon be made public by the commission.

He stated that one of the companies will cover the Lagos area while the other will provide fibre infrastructure in the north central zone including Abuja.

Juwah also added that five more licences are expected to be issued by December.

“When the seven InfraCos finally come on board, they are expected to take broadband infrastructure from the ocean and connect them to the cities and hinterland across the country... This would make internet ubiquitous in Nigeria and this would in turn impact positively on the economy”, he said.

It was a thrilling and exciting musical experience as two of Nigeria’s popular fuji musicians, Malaika and Atawewe held them spellbound during their performances at the quarter final of the on-going Fuji t’o Bam competition. The duo got standing ovation throughout the duration of their performances.

Atawewe and the 2013 winner of Fuji T' Bam on stage in Akure

Bukola Omoyajowo from Ado-Ekiti

The competition is aimed at galvanizing creativity and celebrating consumers. The event took place at the Elite Club Ilesha in the heart of Osun State.

After a keenly contested performance session by contestants, Sunday Olayiwola (aka Temitope Ajani Oluaye Fuji) and OlajideAkanni ‘Banana’ from Akure both qualified while Smally Fuji made it from Ilesha as well as BukiOmoyajowo from Ado-Ekiti. Equally too, Ejire Performer and OkikiWasiu both gave Osogbo a great standing while AdisaMuyideen and Twinzobia Twins from Ibadan convinced the judges that they have what it takes for to clinch semi-final slots.

The Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Walter Drenth had during the course of the auditions, expressed satisfaction over the huge turn-out of Fuji lovers and artistes. While explaining the rationale behind Goldberg’s Fuji to Bam initiative, he said, “Goldberg is a quality lager beer that celebrates consumers and their traditional values. Fuji music enjoys huge followership across Nigeria which has led the brand to provide Fuji t’o Bam as one of the platforms to further engage and connect with our consumers.”

English and French champions Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have agreed settlements with Uefa involving €60m ($83.4m) fines for breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, but maintained their unhappiness at the assessment of their financial status by football’s European governing body.

On Friday evening, Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Investigatory Chamber announced that City and PSG, along with seven other clubs, agreed to settlement deals relating to investigations opened following non-compliance with FFP regulations. The English Premier League champion and its French Ligue 1 counterpart, bankrolled by UAE and Qatari owners, received the stiffest sanctions, with the fines representing the biggest that Uefa has ever handed out.

The punishments for both City and PSG run along similar lines, with €40m of the fines being returned to the clubs if they fulfil their financial obligations over the next two years. Those obligations include limiting deficits to €10m in the financial year ending in 2015 for City, with PSG allowed a deficit of €30m for that period before being obligated to break even by 2016.The Premier League champions joined Paris St-Germain, who were given a similar penalty, and seven other clubs in accepting the first wave of FFP sanctions.

Under the complex ruling, the club must also agree to a string of other conditions: maximum losses of €20m in 2014 and €10m in 2015, to cap their wage bill at current levels for the next two seasons and to “significantly limit” spending in the transfer market for the same period.

The public launch of the .africa TLD which was expected to the launch this month by the ZACR has been delayed due to the Independent Review Process (IRP) - currently in progress between ICANN and DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust).

It is a matter of public record that DCA Trust initially submitted a separate competing application for .africa, but lacked critical government support. In contrast, the ZACR’s application for .africa was accompanied by widespread support from African governments, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Internet community.

The interim relief granted after DCA Trust submitted an Amended Notice of Independent Review Process (“IRP”) on January 10, 2014 to the International Center for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). DCA Trust sent its Notice of IRP in October 2013. This is a step towards resolution of the dispute between ICANN and DCA Trust over ICANN Board decisions and actions taken with regard to DCA Trust’s application for the .africa new gTLD.

The IRP is one of the accountability review processes set out in the ICANN Bylaws. For an understanding of how ICANN’s accountability review processes work, including the IRP. The DCA Trust/ICANN IRP will continue along the defined process. Documents related to the IRP are available at http://www.icann.org/en/news/irp/dca-v-icann.

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In a bid to appreciate and celebrate its esteemed distributors for their support and loyalty, The La Casera Company, over the recently, rewarded its loyal distributors for performing exceptionally well in the year, 2013.

The La Casera Partners’ conference, a yearly event, was held at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island in Lagos. It witnessed a huge turnout of distributors from across the country. One of the highlights of the colorful and well attended event was the presentation of awards to distributors who distinguished themselves in enhancing sales for the company in the year 2013. In addition to the awards, distributors also went home with fantastic QPS prizes, ranging from Ford Ranger vans to cash prizes of amounting to 60 Million Naira.

Speaking at the event, The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Dileeban Ponniah, said “I am highly honored to be here to celebrate, recognize and reward our esteemed distributors who have consistently shown great loyalty to our company with their unflinching support to our growth and aspirations.

Mr. Ponniah, continued, “Your immense efforts have contributed to the phenomenal growth of the company, and we are indeed proud and thankful to be associated with you”.

Africell Holding signs an agreement with the Orange Group to acquire its majority stake in Orange Uganda.

The transaction upon completion, following regulatory approval, would bring Africell’s portfolio to 4 operations with a total market potential of over 120 million inhabitants.

“Uganda with a population of over 37 million and a penetration rate of 50% was well within the criteria we had set to further expand in Africa targeting high potential and high growth markets” says Ziad Dalloul, Chairman and C.E.O of the Africell Group.

Africell would still be looking to add one more market to its portfolio before end 2015 to further expand and diversify its portfolio to cover West, Central, and East Africa.

Africell holds a dominant leading market share in Gambia and Sierra Leone and was able to achieve a 20% market share in the DRC in less than two years of operations facing well established operators. The group currently has over 9 million active subscribers and forecasted to reach 11 million by year’s end.